Watson allowed to keep 2012 All-Australian spot

The AFL Commission has decided not to scratch Jobe Watson from the 2012 All-Australian team, despite being found guilty of breaching the World Anti-Doping Agency’s drugs code.

Watson, along with 33 past and current Essendon players were suspended for the 2016 season due to the Bombers’ 2012 supplements regime. The 31-year-old decided his hand his 2012 Brownlow Medal back to the league last week, with runners-up Trent Cotchin and Sam Mitchell named as the joint winners of the award on Tuesday.

However, The Age reports that the AFL has decided to allow Watson to keep his All-Australian spot, despite the ban. The decision reportedly came down to the eligibility within the All-Australian team.

Within the rule of the Brownlow Medal, a player can be deemed ineligible to win should be found not be the fairest and best player, for example if a player is suspended, with the AFL Commission ruling Watson to be ineligible to win the award following his suspension.

However, with no such eligibility requirement in the All-Australian side, Watson will keep his spot.

Sam Mitchell, who is now one of the joint winners of the 2012 Brownlow Medal, was named in the initial 40-man squad, however, did not make the final 22-man All-Australian team.

Technically the suspension of 2015 was for what was done in the 2012 season. That being the case Jobe or any other essendon player shouldn’t be considered for anything from that season. Hence why the Brownlow was taken off him…

How can someone who breached the rules of the game and asada be allowed to keep his spot as an all Australian when he was enhanced by drugs that same year. That is not fair on the rest of the clean players of that season who tried their best without hopping up on drugs.

Why don’t you take his name off him or his house , maybe his parents should disown him …… Is he gonna cop shit for another 4 years , he has well and truly copped his wack or are there no other stories in the football world . I wonder if lauchie Whitfield will get the same attention for hiding from the drug testers WTF .. 8 weeks . Don’t worry , the bombers will be back and so will Jobe !!!!

AFL are nothing more then over rated dictators. He shouldn’t even have lost his brownlow as there was never any proof that he did anything wrong in the first place and that was decided by the stuffing AFL commission. The AFL are a disgrace